Broken Promises
by Koume
Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back. FINISHED! YEAHH!
1. Chapter 1

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**Title:** Broken Promises

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**Game: **Zelda

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**Rating:** G

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**Genre:** Romance

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**Summary:** As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

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**Warning:** none

A/N: Hey people, how are we? This idea came to me as I was walking home from school one day, so yeah… I began writing it as soon as I could.

I don't think I've used this coupling before, so yeah… here goes! Read and tell me what you think.

Chapter 1

I stayed eminently motionless from my perch on the rafters of the royal Throne Room where I watched the coronation ceremony for Zelda Daphnes Nohanses Hyrule. The new queen looked sad. I knew she was upset… and I also knew why.

She was waiting to see me. Just a passing face in the crowd, perhaps, but she wanted to see me. And I wanted to let her. But I knew I couldn't.

And for the first time in my entire life… I shall admit… it was because I was afraid.

With my natural ability of stealth, I slowly and silently left the Throne Room. I went home. One last time. She knew where to find me.

Zelda sat in her new throne, her loyal advisors, the six sages, at one side and Link, the Hero of Time on the other.

This was the day she had been trained for since she was old enough to talk. She was now Queen. It was supposed to be a happy ceremony. A joyous occasion and Zelda herself was excited.

But her eyes were damp.

'Why isn't he here?'

She mulled over the thought for the rest of the ceremony.

As soon as she could, she was out of the castle. The crowd parted for her and she was grateful for it. She had something to do and didn't want anyone to get in her way. She walked to Kakariko Village by herself. Impa would scold her for at least half an hour about going out somewhere unprotected, but it wasn't something of major importance at the moment. Finding his house, she pushed the door open and stepped through, not even stopping to see if he was there or not. She already knew that he was.

"Why weren't you there? I waited for you. Three hours and I didn't even catch a glimpse of your face. You promised me that you would be there."

A young man hung upside-down from the top of a bookshelf and looked her in the eyes.

"I do not recall promising that."

Scowling, Zelda glared into the crimson eyes staring into her azure orbs.

"I thought we were friends."

Grinning, the man ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair, which was hanging off his head, which was the reason she could look into his eyes.

"We _are_ friends, Zelda."

"_Queen _Zelda," the new queen snapped.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Touchy, touchy."

Zelda began wondering how he could hang upside-down for such a long time, not even a trace of red in his face. She came to the conclusion that he was used to it.

"You'd be annoyed too, if you're best friend didn't show up at your coronation."

"Waaagh!" he cried, wrapping his arms around Zelda in an odd embrace, "You called me your best friend!"

Zelda couldn't help a smile, "Of course we're best friends."

"I _was_ at the coronation," he told her.

"Where?" she asked, wondering if there was a possibility that she had missed him.

"In the roof," he replied, grinning.

Rolling her eyes, she slapped his head and grabbed him by the arms and pulled him down, so he lost he balance on top of the bookshelf where he was dangling from knees up and crashed onto the ground.

"…Ow…" he whispered.

Zelda sat down next to him as he untangled himself and sat up. After a whole minute of staring into each other's eyes, they began laughing.

"You do realise that I am going to leave now," he told her as his laughter subsided.

Hers immediately stopped, "What?!"

His grin slowly faded, "It's true. I have no purpose here anymore."

"No purpose?" Zelda cried, "You're my best friend! You can't just leave like that with no reason!"

'I _do_ have reason…' he thought, but kept the thought to himself. He knew that she couldn't stop him.

He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Hyrule's going to go really bad!" she threatened him.

He turned around to face her and smiled, "No it won't, Zelda. I know you'll be a good leader."

"But…" she protested, standing up and following him.

Covering her hand with his mouth to stop her protesting, he gave her a gentle smile and nodded to her. Kissing her forhead, he turned around again.

"Don't forget me."

Zelda's heart sank. She realised she couldn't stop him. She never could.

He was leaving.

A tear rolled down her cheek and her hand rested against the door frame.

"I won't…"

Slowly sinking to her knees, she softly cried.

A/N: So….? Think you know who 'he' is? =D

All feedback is welcome, be it support or criticism. I love reading your reviews, so don't bother holding back. Tell me everything you think about it, even if you're afraid I might take offense!! It's the reviews that make writers better, not assuming that they're doing everything right and really end up annoying the readers.

And I SHALL make the chapters longer and I SHALL update soon! .

PS: by the way, I just made up the whole Zelda's full name thing... in fact, what I did was just take the name of the King from The Wind Waker and put "Zelda" in front of it, because I think that in medieval times, daughters had their father's name in their name... or something...   



	2. Chapter 2

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

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Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

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Warning: none

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Does that make anyone feel any better? Didn't make me feel better at all… ;;

A/N: I updated as soon as I could! (So far I'm doing better with updating this than the other two of my chaptered fics) So yeah… This chapter reveals who the guy from the last chapter was… congratualtions to all of those who guessed right! showers those people with heart pieces and rupees

Well….. to the fic!

Chapter 2

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I felt guilty just leaving like that… she was my best friend and we promised to stand by each other, always. And here I was, just leaving her all alone… I stopped. I didn't have to do this. I looked back, but I had already walked out of the village without my realising it.

"Goodbye… Zel," I whispered.

I left at that. Hoping the wind would carry my words to her.

I hated myself for this.

Zelda's breath caught as more tears leaked down her cheeks.

'He… he was my best friend…!'

She slowly got up and closed the door, sitting at the table in his house, burying her face in her arms.

"How can you do this to me, Sheik?" she whispered weakly.

A knock sounded at the door. Zelda immediately looked up.

"Sheik?!" she cried, running to the door and opening it.

"Wrong Sheikah," Impa replied, "May I ask what you are doing in mine and my nephew's house?"

"He… left…!" Zelda said, looking around.

"Sheik?" Impa questioned.

Zelda nodded, "He just… left!"

"Where to?" Impa muttered.

"If I knew, I'd be following him!" Zelda snapped.

"Sorry…" Impa apologised carefully.

She knew how much Sheik and Zelda meant to each other, perhaps even more than they knew themselves.

"Why _didn't_ you follow him?" Impa asked.

Zelda sighed, "I… I really don't know… I couldn't think… all I knew was that he was leaving and I felt so helpless… all I could do was cry…"

Impa gave Zelda a sad look and hugged her, "There there, child…"

"Do you think I'll be able to find him if I search for him?" Zelda asked.

Impa smiled, "I don't see why not."

"Then that's that. Tomorrow I shall begin searching for Sheik and shall order him to return to Hyrule," the queen said boldly.

The Sheikah woman smiled in amusement, "And what exactly do you plan to do with the kingdom while you are on your quest?"

"You and Link can take care of it," Zelda replied, smiling, "You're the two people I trust most, apart from Sheik. You can take care of all the things such as the citizens and stuff and Link can handle any war-related things that may come up… goddess forbid."

Impa chuckled, "If that is your wish. But you will have to be quick in coming back. The citizens of your kingdom shall not be too pleased when they find out that their newly crowned queen has left without any warning."

Zelda frowned slightly.

'The kingdom…'

"I know you are not used to such responsibility yet," Impa said, reading Zelda's thought through her expression.

"Responsibility?! I _am_ responsible! Didn't I show that when Link was on his quest to overthrow Ganon?!" Zelda argued.

Impa smiled patiently, "You have much to learn yet. For now, go. Pack whatever you may need for this quest of yours."

Zelda opened her mouth to argue again, but shut it, realising that her time could be better spent searching for Sheik.

Leaving the house, she ran to the castle and didn't stop running until she reached her room, ignoring all questions from guards and servants.

"I'll find you," she muttered as she rummaged her room for her small bag, "I'll find you and make you sorry for ever leaving, Sheik."

It took her half an hour to decide what to pack but once she was finally happy with her bag of belongings, she left the room, only to bump into Link.

"Where you waiting for me?" she asked, noticing that it didn't seem accidental.

He nodded, "I heard you were leaving for a small quest?"

"Impa told you?" she asked.

"What do you plan on taking with you?" he questioned, nodding towards her small bag.

"Just a few potions in case they're needed… a map, compass, my spellbook and ocarina…" she said, trying to make it sound unimportant.

He smiled at her, "Ocarina?"

She blushed out of embarrassment, "In case I get lost…"

He laughed slightly, "So you can play Saria's Song and ask her for help?"

She nodded, her face covered with a red tint.

He laughed again, "It's okay. I did the same."

She smiled at him, "Well… Impa told you that you're in charge of all military affairs, right?"

He nodded.

"Then I'll be off. Take care," she said, walking off.

"Wait," he called out, holding her back, "You… you're not going to try search for Sheik wearing _that_, are you?"

Her eyes widened with indignation, "And why not?"

Link grinned, "This is a Sheikah we're talking about. _Sheik_. Do you really think that anywhere he'll go would be royal-clothes-friendly? And besides, I reckon it'd be better if you could go unrecognised through Hyrule so that the citizens didn't have to know you were gone."

Zelda laughed, "Okay, fine Mr Hero! You tell me everything I have to do, then!"

Link went red, "I didn't mean to boast or anything…"

Smiling, Zelda patted his shoulder, "I know that. Now come on. If I'm not going to wear this, what _am_ I going to wear?"

"Do you mind staying back for half an hour?" Link asked.

"Why?" Zelda asked, raising her eyebrow.

She needed to start looking for Sheik before she had no chance of catching up to him.

"I'll get a tunic made for you," Link offered, "I don't think that would draw any attention to you. Most people in Hyrule only think of you as the one who wears the royal clothes. Wear a tunic, have your hair a bit messier than usual and you'll be fine. King Darunia has a son who's a tailor."

Zelda smiled as she and Link began walking down the stairs to find King Darunia's son.

I know it seems like Link and Zelda like each other, at least a bit at the end… blame it on the fact that I'm too used to writing Link/Zelda fics! 

And yes, I'm gonna make Link a know-it-all when it comes to quests and such! Considering how many he's been on himself, I reckon it's fitting ;

Well anyways… review and tell me what you think! I love reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

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Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

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Warning: none

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Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N:

Before anything else, I would like to straighten one thing out…

When I first saw Sheik, I was like "woah… he's hot…" so upon my discovering 'he' was actually Zelda, I was scared/disapponted. This has led me to support the theory that Sheik and Zelda are different people… childhood friends, and that Zelda only based her disguise on Sheik, not the actual fact that Zelda is Sheik.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT SHEIK IS A GUY AND ANYONE WHO HAS A PROBLEM WITH THAT SHOULDN'T BOTHER FLAMING ME BECAUSE I DON'T CARE!!

=) that aside…

I expanded on the slight LinkZelda thingie that popped up completely unintentionally last chapter… and yeah…

This was originally just going to be a Sheik/Zelda, but yeah… might as well throw in some difficult choices for Zelda while I'm at it =D (sorry all Sheik/Zelda fans who didn't want Link to get in the way)

And if anyone was in doubt (if they were, I'd laugh… no offense to them…), the italics at the beginning of each chapter are bits of Sheik's point of view. It'll have more purpose later on…

Wow that's a long author's note (compared to my others) so I shall stop bugging you for now… I'M SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE! BLAME IT ON MY PARENTS! THEY WOULDN'T LET ME GO ON THE INTERNET FOR A FREAKING AGE! (actually, they don't know I'm on at the moment… but they're not home and what they don't know shall not hurt them… =D)

To the fic!

Chapter 3

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I cut through the thicket of trees with a vengance. I was really angry… angry at everything. Especially at myself. I wanted to just turn around and go home, back to Zelda… but my ego wouldn't hear of it. Shaking my head, I continued cutting through the forest.

Kicking aside a fallen branch, I kept going until I recached a small clearing. This was the place I was looking for. The place Link had told me about before…

I was in the forest just outside Termina. Zelda would never think to look here. But was that what I really wanted…? I wasn't sure of anything, anymore.

Zelda squirmed with discomfort in her tunic.

"Link… I really don't see how this is going to help…" she said, looking at herself in the mirror.

Link shrugged and leaned back against the wall, "You'll be able to move more freely in that than in a long skirt. And you shouldn't wear any jewellery… it'll only weigh you down and there's a good chance you'll either lose it or wreck it anyway…"

Zelda sighed, "Okay, okay… can I go now?"

Link smiled, "Impa told me that you weren't leaving until tomorrow morning?"

Zelda sighed again, "Yeah… but the longer I wait, the less chance I'll have of ever catching up to him."

"You care about him, don't you?" Link asked.

"I do," she replied, "He's my best friend, Link."

"No," Link whispered, "There's more to it than that…"

Zelda blushed and averted her gaze from Link's azure orbs.

"No…" she said quietly, "There's someone else I've had my eye on…"

"Don't try to trick me, Zel, I know you like Sheik."

Link winked at her and began walking out of the room, "I'll wait for you outside, okay?"

Zelda's shoulders slightly drooped as Link left the room. He didn't think she liked someone else? He thought she was trying to trick him?

"Link, you're cute, but you're so thick," she muttered.

She sighed and slowly walked out of the room too, to join Link.

"You happy with that?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"The tunic? It's fine," she replied.

"You leaving, then?" he asked, gazing down the hall.

She placed her hand on his, "Link… why don't you come with me?"

He grinned and shook his head, "No. What's between you and Sheik is your business, not mine."

"Don't you get it?" she asked, her grip on his hand tightening.

"Come on Zel, I know you like him. Even if you don't know it yourself," Link replied.

Zelda closed her eyes and frowned, shaking her head, "Link, you're an idiot."

Link's eyes widened, "What?!"

Summoning her courage, she kissed him.

"That. Get it now? It isn't Sheik. It's you."

Link's eyes were wider now, if possible.

"Zel, you really shouldn't have done that…"

"Why not?" she asked, a hue of pink rising in her cheeks.

"Sh-" Link began.

"Don't say anything about me liking Sheik, okay? I'm telling you. I do not like him… not in that way."

Link sighed as Zelda walked down the hall and into her room.

"You're only fooling yourself, Zelda. No matter how much I'd give for you to be right… I know it's wrong."

Told ya there'd be Link/Zelda!! I can't help it, I'm an obsessive Link/Zelda fan who also happens to like Sheik/Zelda though not as much and therefore can write Link/Zelda into a fic that's supposed to be Sheik/Zelda without thoroughly pissing myself off.

If you had no idea what I was just going on about in the above paragraph, join the club! I'm on a happy high again and my fingers have a mind of their own. Hehe, happy high sounds funny.

ANYWAYS… review and tell me what you think… I like reviews!

And to all the people that are pissed of at me for the Link/Zelda I put in, don't worry!! I'll make up for it in later chapters!! ; Zelda's just one very poor confused person who has no idea what's going on with her.

I'll stop writing in this author's note before I give the whole goddamn plot away (excuse my blasphemy if you are offended) so yeah… review and have fun, people!


	4. Chapter 4

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

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Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

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Warning: none

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Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N:

Seeing that I wasn't allowed on the net for so long, but continued writing, I figured I might as well put up all the chapters I have finished writing so far. So yeah… this and another one as well. Hope you likie.

Chapter 4

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I wasn't lost. A Sheikah never gets lost! Never! I just… I'm not too well acquainted with this place, that's all! All I need to do is read a few road-side signs and I will know exactly where I am!

I looked around and sighed.

Okay, I was lost.

I really wanted to go back to Hyrule at the moment. Just jump out of the shadows and pounce on Zelda and yell something stupid like "Surprise!"… I really did.

But there were two things stopping me from doing so.

Going back to Zelda meant facing the feelings that accompanied our friendship. The feelings that I knew were wrong and that she would never accept.

The second being I was LOST, in the middle of some stupid forest, with no idea which direction I came from, which direction to go or anything!

I sighed again. I knew today was going to be a long day from the moment I woke up.

The hooves of the two horses crunched through newly fallen leaves. It was autumn and the trees were of beautiful oranges, reds… crimsons…

Zelda sighed, pushing the hood of her cloak slightly away from her face, she glanced at Link, who was ignoring her. She supposed that she had scared him when she had kissed him.

"Look, Link… I'm sorry about before…" she said, trying to break the silence between them.

"I'm not to the one you should say sorry to," he replied gently.

She narrowed her eyes as she anticipated his next words, "Let me guess… I should be sorry for betraying my feelings for Sheik?"

He looked at her, his own hood falling off, and grinned, "You said it, not me."

Zelda sighed and rolled her eyes. At least Link wasn't angry or something…

"Impa told me that you were crying a lot when he left," Link said, looking forward and patting Epona's head.

Because Zelda was riding behind Link, he couldn't see her narrow her eyes at him again.

He looked back, grinning in an annoying manner, "Afraid to admit it?"

"Yes, I was crying," she snapped, "Happy?"

"It was evident you weren't, when Sheik left," Link said, deliberately attempting to annoy Zelda.

Her eyes widened as she fumed, "No I wasn't. Would you like to know why? Because I don't handle leaving my best friend as easily as other people may. You see, I don't run off without a word."

Link stopped Epona and looked away.

"That was uncalled for, Zelda."

She bit her lip, "Sorry…"

"I asked for it," he whispered and he made Epona speed up.

Zelda felt like hitting herself in the head. Instead of remaining happy at the fact that Link wasn't angry at her, she just _had_ to go say the wrong things, so he was.

"I'm so insensitive," she muttered, her eyes misting up.

"No you're not," Link replied, "If you were, you wouldn't be here, looking for Sheik."

"Would you please stop talking about how I'm searching for Sheik because I like him, like that!" she yelled.

"Are you afraid that I am right?" he challenged.

Zelda's eyes widened, "I can't believe someone who was so quiet when they were ten can be so irritatingly inquisitive!"

"Why are you so annoyed, Zelda?" Link asked, frowning, "Do you even know? Because I'm sure I do."

"If this theory of yours has anything to do with Sheik, you can forget it," Zelda said shortly.

Ignoring her, Link continued, "Okay, even if you're denying that you love Sheik, I know that you are angry. Angry at Sheik for leaving you. He was your best friend and you feel betrayed that he left without much warning. You're angry at yourself for letting him go, without following him. And you're angry at me for bringing up topics you believe are best left hidden and forgotten."

Zelda stopped her horse and glared at Link, "Where are we going Link?"

"To find Sheik," Link replied.

Her eyes narrowed, "I don't mean that. I mean, where. South of Hyrule? North? Where?"

"Oh," Link said and then glanced around, "We're in a forest east of Hyrule."

"Are you certain?" Zelda asked.

Link grinned, "Why? Planning to turn back?"

"I would never turn back from a… so-called quest to find my _best friend_," she replied coldly.

Link couldn't hold back a small laugh, "Don't worry. I know exactly where we are. These woods lead to Termina."

Zelda recognised the name. Link had told her of the place a few years ago.

"You mean the place where you encountered that evil mask?" she asked.

Link nodded, "I want to make a stop there, just see how everyone's going. I know someone there who might be able to help us."

Zelda rasied an eyebrow but said nothing.

The continued east until the sun was low in the horizon.

"Link, are you sure you know where we're going?" Zelda asked.

"Of course I do," Link said without hesitation.

"Did it take you this long to get to Termina when you were a child?" she questioned.

Link's ears went red, "No…" he admitted.

Zelda rolled her eyes, but couldn't help laugh, "Have you any idea of where we are?"

Link stopped Epona and looked around him. Nothing but forest.

"My guess would be that we're in the middle of the forest," he said.

Zelda slapped her forehead, "Okay…"

"I suggest we make camp here and wait for the sun to come up. It can be really dangerous at night," Link said and dismounted Epona, placing a sack that he had with him on the ground.

"If you insist," she replied and took her own sack off and began to take a few things out, such as a blanket for a makeshift bed.

Link placed his own blanket on the ground and found some branches nearby for firewood. Lighting it, he went off to get some food.

Taking out her spellbook, Zelda began reading, just out of boredom. After Link came back and they ate, they stayed up for a while talking, just generally trying to ease the previous tension between them until sleep claimed them. Both unaware that they were being watched.

In case anyone wondered what was so good about the crimson colours of the leaves, it is because they reminded Zelda of Sheik's eyes, which also happen to be crimson.

Apart from that, if anyone has questions, feel free to ask away in a review. Anyone who doesn't have questions, review anyways.


	5. Chapter 5

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

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Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

****

Warning: none

****

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N:

Yeah, here's the other chapter I finished. Read and review.

Chapter 5

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It was getting late and I wasn't making any progress by just wandering around this damned forest. I swear I knew every single tree in this area. I only realised it was night when I heard the wolfos cry. I hadn't even realised that my vision wasn't that good due to the darkness. I guess I could blame it on the fact that I was too annoyed at myself for getting lost here and leaving Hyrule in the first place.

Looking around, I found a tree that I could stay in. I didn't trust Hyrule Field at night and it was a place I actually knew. I'd be damned if I left myself vulnerable to whatever lurked this place at night. But in any case, I had my needle daggers.

I was curled up on a branch and half asleep when I heard voices. I almost fell out of my bloody tree in shock. I stayed on my branch and tried to watch the people, but I couldn't that well because there were all these leaves and branches in my way. I was too far away to hear them, either. I watched one of them leave and I figured there was only one other person there because I didn't hear that much noise.

Creeping closer to their camp, I was careful to stay silent, but almost fell out of the tree again when I realised who it was sitting there.

Zelda. Of all people. The one person I was running from.

I quickly figured that the other person was Link and I was right. He came back shortly after and I watched them eat and talk. I kept watching them until they fell asleep. I waited a little longer until I was sure they were in deep sleep before I allowed my feet to touch the ground.

"Zel…" I whispered ever so softly, touching her hair.

She didn't seem to stir, so I immediately knew I would be able to get away without being detected. Only problem was, I didn't want to run. Not yet.

She mumbled in her sleep and rolled to her side. The side facing me, nonetheless.

I let myself sit next to where she lay, just listening to her breathe. Goddesses, it felt good. I soon lost control… should have known I would.

Bending over her, I placed my hand on her cheek and kissed her soft lips.

She stirred slightly, "Sheik…"

I didn't know if she was talking in her sleep or if she was conscious of what I was doing, but I didn't care at that moment. I just kept kissing her, all over her face. I loved it, yet… I felt sad.

"I'm so sorry, Zel…" I whispered, stroking her hair, "I didn't want to leave. Believe me, I didn't want to leave. I had to, though. I knew it was wrong. We're best friends, Zel. Best friends. But I still love you…"

Only then did I realise that the moon was no longer against my skin. That someone was standing in the way. I jumped slightly and moved away from Zelda quickly, to meet the eyes of the person standing in the way of the moon.

Link chuckled in amusement at Sheik's panic.

"Oh, Link. It's only you…" the Sheikah breathed.

"Of course it is. I'm sorry if I scared you. I could tell you were certainly in the middle of a profound confession there," Link replied, grinning.

Sheik's face went red, "You heard?"

"I've learned to be a light sleeper since I started going out on quests. I woke up as soon as I heard you come here."

"Oh…" Sheik said and rubbed the back of his neck, "So much for stealth, eh?"

Link grinned and then looked at Zelda, "Want to go somewhere else, a bit farther away from Zelda? I don't think you'd want her to wake up."

Sheik nodded and they noiselessly walked a short distance away.

"Why don't you go back?" Link asked.

Sheik sighed, "I can't."

"Just because you're afraid of your love for Zelda?" Link asked, raising his eyebrow.

Sighing, Sheik looked away, "It's wrong."

"Why is it wrong? You love her, Sheik. That's all that should matter," the hero said.

"I know that's all that should matter… but… I'm afraid of what she'll think of me," Sheik whispered.

"She cried when you left," Link said.

"What?" Sheik looked up.

"She did. She was so upset, Sheik. Even if she isn't willing to admit it, you broke her heart when you left," Link said.

"Isn't willing to admit…? What do you mean, Link?" Sheik asked.

Link sighed, "I don't know if you wanna hear this or not…"

"Tell me," the Sheikah insisted.

"All I've spent today doing is bugging her about how she cares for you. I can tell that she loves you, Sheik. But she's denying it… she even told me that…"

Sheik looked at Link expectantly.

The Hylian sighed, "She even told me that she liked me."

Sheik didn't know what to say, "Oh…"

"But I know she's just kidding herself," Link added.

Sheik's heart sank, "What if she's not in denial? What if she really does like you?"

Link smiled and shook his head, "She doesn't. I know it."

"But still!" Sheik cried, holding Link by the shoulders and shaking him, "What if she doesn't return my feelings? That's why I'm running, Link! I hate opening myself up, you know that. By going back to Hyrule, I'm only opening myself up to pain and rejection if I tell Zelda how I feel about her!"

Sheik's loud voice caused Zelda to stir.

Glancing at her worriedly, Sheik sighed, "I'm sorry Link, I can't go back. I can never go back."

"But Shei-" Link began, but the Sheikah had already run off into the night.

"Damn it," he said, kicking at the ground, "Shouldn't have told him that."

"Link…?"

He looked up to see Zelda walking towards him.

"Hey. I couldn't sleep," Link lied, smiling at her.

Zelda gave him a slightly inquisitive look, a faint blush settling about her cheeks, "I know this is a weird question Link, but did you kiss me when I was asleep?"

Link shook his head, "No, not me."

"Funny…" she muttered, "I swear someone kissed me."

Link grinned, but said nothing.

Zelda folded her arms, "Don't tell me you think I was dreaming about Sheik kissing me."

Link shook his head, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth."

"Try me!" she said, sounding extremely annoyed.

Link grinned again, but shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Zelda."

There! Finally, some SheikZelda-ish stuff! ; don't worry, that's not the last you shall see of it, either. Anyways, review.


	6. Chapter 6

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

****

Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

****

Warning: none

****

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N:

I am writing more and updating sooner… I LOVE HOLIDAYS!! I'm half-way through writing the next chapter as well, so I'll have that up as soon as possible too.

This chapter has some Ocarina of Time crossing over with Majora's Mask, but I wrote it in a way that is hopefully understandable. Hopefully. That is, for people who have actually played OoT and MM…

Chapter 6

__

I had trouble leaving that small clearing. I really wanted to stay back.

It couldn't be that bad, having to deal with unrequited love, could it? I mean… all I'd have to do is keep my mouth shut and watch Zelda and Link… NO WAY!

Being a Sheikah, I never took defeat well. I couldn't really call this a defeat because Link did believe that Zelda was kidding herself, but going back to Hyrule meant immediate defeat. All I'd have to do is witness Zelda trying to convince her love was true to Link. Regardless of whether it was or not, I would most definitely see that as an immediate defeat.

So then it was decided:

The four words I would love to hear Zelda say; "I love you, Sheik."

Four I'd hate to hear; "I love you, Link."

I sighed. Why the hell did I get myself into this mess? Aunt Impa always told me that strong emotions were the easiest way to cloud one's better judgement. I listened to her! I did! I didn't expect to fall in love with my best friend!

Sighing, I found another tree, farther away from Zelda, which I climbed and fell asleep in, for the remaining hours of the night.

Only when I was almost asleep did I realise that Link would have known the way to Termina and I should have asked him. But then, if I asked him, he'd know where I was going and probably track me down…

Damn it! Nothing's gone right today.

Oh well, I silently swore to myself that when I woke up the next day, I would start searching for the correct path and find Termina.

Zelda woke up the next day to find Link had already packed up their camp, except for her makeshift bed. Putting it away, she found Link perched on a tree, seeming to be looking for something.

"You trying to find the way to Termina?" Zelda called up to Link, standing under his branch.

"Oh, you're awake? Good morning," Link said, smiling at her.

"You looking for the path to Termina?" Zelda repeated her question.

"Uh… yeah," Link lied. In actual fact, he was trying to see if he could find Sheik.

"Any progress?" Zelda asked.

Link only realised then that sticking up from the trees he was incessantly staring at, was Clocktown's famous clocktower.

"I've found the direction," Link said, "We just need to find a path."

"Which direction?" Zelda asked, placing her sack of belongings on her horse, but not mounting.

"West," Link said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Seems we've been going South-East."

(A/N: I am not good at Geography, nor am I good with directions. If I am wrong, tell me, but don't yell at me about it 'cos I don't care and I'm dropping Geography next year anyway.)

Zelda laughed and shook her head, "Okay, come on."

Link jumped off the tree, still facing the direction they had to go in.

Mounting her horse, Zelda looked at Link, "Think we'll make it to Termina by the end of today?"

"If we hurry," Link replied, mounting his own horse and riding in the direction of Termina.

After hours, Link yelled in victory.

"What's the matter?" Zelda asked, sounding and feeling extremely tired.

"I recognise this place. See that tunnel there? I went in there when I was a kid to try and find Epona after she got stolen!"

Epona let out an uneasy neigh as she also recognised the place.

"It's okay, girl," Link said, smiling at his horse and patting her head, "We'll be fine."

Continuing ahead, they finally found themselves at the entrance to Termina Field, as an old sign proclaimed.

"Link? What are you doing?" Zelda asked as she saw him get off and run to a small tree stump.

Link grinned and touched it gently, "It's still there…"

"_What's_ still there?" Zelda asked, sounding confused.

"This small drawing," Link explained, "When I was little… remember the whole skull kid thing? Well, when he turned good again, he drew this picture of me, him, Tatl and Tael."

Zelda smiled and dismounted her horse and also looked at the picture, "How sweet."

"Come on," Link said, standing up again, "We'll have to see if there are any spare rooms in Stockpot Inn."

Zelda smiled and followed him, mounting their horses, they rode into Clocktown.

"Link?" a familiar voice asked.

"Kafei?" Link asked, immediately recognising the voice, looking around, but not seeing him.

"I'm here, Link," Kafei said, grinning.

"Kafei!" Link exclaimed, "You're… grown up!"

Kafei grinned and nodded, "Yep. Got the Great Fairy to turn me back to normal as soon as we could."

"That's great! I'm really happy for you, sir!" Link cried and dismounted Epona, shaking hand with him.

Kafei laughed at the title and shook his head, "Don't, Link. I'm only seven years older than you. Besides, I consider you as a friend. Is this Epona? Wow, she's grown a lot too!"

Link nodded, "Uh-huh."

Kafei noticed Zelda and grinned, "Don't tell me you're married too, Link?"

Link looked at Kafei, then Zelda and laughed aloud, "Of course not, Kafei! This is Princess Zelda, of Hyrule. We're here on a temporary stop-off. We're looking for… someone very dear to her."

"Aaah… indeed," Kafei said, winking knowingly to Link, who grinned, "Someone dear to the princess."

"Link?" Zelda asked, dismounting her own horse and giving Link an inquiring look.

"Ah! Yeah, I forgot to introduce you properly. Zelda, this is Kafei Dotour. The… mayor of Clocktown?" Link looked at Kafei.

"Yes, I am," Kafei confirmed, nodding and then bowing to Zelda, "Pleased to meet you, princess. Welcome to my home."

"Stockpot Inn have any vacancies? We'd like to rent two rooms," Link said.

Kafei frowned in thought, "Not quite sure. But it should be completely vacant. Only times it's filled is during the Carnival of Time season. You'll have to ask my wife, though. She's the one who runs the place."

Zelda looked around the place in wonder. It was different to Hyrule… yet, it carried the same familiarity. Only after another moment's worth of admiring the place did she realise that Link and Kafei had walked off with the two horses, talking and laughing as they tied the horses up under a shelter that looked quite new, opposite to a two-story building.

"Wait for me!" she called, running after them as they entered the building.

Review with opinions, criticisms, random comments or anything else you feel like saying and don't know who to say it to. I like reading what you people have to say so start clicking and get typing.


	7. Chapter 7

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

****

Genre: Romance

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Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

****

Warning: none

****

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: Here's yet another double post due to the fact that I haven't been on the net for a while again… umm… yeah… I have nothing else to say…

Chapter 7

__

It wasn't until late afternoon the next day that I finally found a sign that announced the entrance to Termina.

"About time!" I yelled, probably scaring the hell out of birds perched in nearby trees.

It was late and the only reason I wasn't covered in scratches was because my clothing was thick. I was hungry, tired, but not angry. I was actually happy. Afterall, I had kept to the promise I made myself that I would find Termina.

Walking into the large field, I looked around. Another sign told me I was in 'South Termina'. I nodded in appreciation. The place must've been big if they had bothered to name the different quadrants. At least I knew a bit about where I was.

Looking around again, I saw the large white walls that surrounded what I supposed was Clocktown, the main town, as Link had told me. I didn't particularly like being around many people, so I decided against going there. Instead, I just kept walking on a dirt path that I had found.

After walking a bit, I realised that I had found a rather intriguing path that led to a house or something. I could tell because I could see a fence in the distance. Well, it was quite empty around here and I didn't want to be around people. What else was I to do? I walked down and found a ranch.

There was yet another blessed sign! I decided that I shall, from this moment on, never mock another sign maker. Not that I had ever done so before…

The sign said that this place was called 'Romani Ranch'. I vaguely remember Link telling me about this place. Underneath it was another piece of paper with a hand-written advertisement on it. It advertised a job at the ranch and said that the employee would be allowed to live at the ranch and be taken care of, yada yada. I didn't need telling twice.

Walking down the stretch of green, I found the house and knocked on the door, hoping that I was the first to read that ad and respond to it.

Zelda slept through the entire day as Link went out and met old acquaintances in Clocktown. The two had managed to rent their two rooms and Anju was kind enough to only charge half-price.

"I can't believe it. Everything's so different here!" Link exclaimed as he walked through Clocktown with Kafei and Anju.

"Of course, Link. It's been eight years since you last came here," Kafei said, grinning.

"What's been done with that thief, Sakon?" Link asked.

Kafei's eyes gleamed with malevolence and Link couldn't help but grin.

"He ran off somewhere. I have no idea where, but he got away," Anju said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder, "Kafei got so mad when they couldn't track him down."

"He delayed our wedding, of course I was mad when he couldn't be punished!" Kafei hissed.

"Honey…" Anju cooed, wrapping her arms around him, "It's okay now. Everything's alright, isn't it? We're married and we have the rest of our lives to spend together…"

"I suppose you're right, my love," Kafei replied, smiling and kissing her.

Link raised an eyebrow as the two began to kiss passionately and kept walking ahead.

Noticing the Milk Bar, Link went to the door and turned the handle, to see if the bar owner still allowed visitors in during the day until he had to clean the place up for the night's business.

The door opened, so Link walked in and down the stairs, to find a whole lot of people in there, as if it were ten o'clock.

"Is that you, Link?" a familiar voice called.

Link looked at the owner of the voice and raised an eyebrow, "Cremia?"

It definitely looked like her, only, more grown up. Of course, it _had_ been eight years…

"Yep, it's me alright. Look at you! You're an adult!" she cried, stepping out from behind the bar.

Link smiled, "I'm surprised you recognise me."

"You kidding?" Cremia asked, "I'd never forget the face of someone who helped me ward off those bandits! Remember that, Link?"

Grinning, Link nodded.

"Also, I would've been able to pick you out in a crowd, what with those green clothes and all," Cremia grinned.

"I suppose…" Link said, looking down at his clothing.

"And another thing… just between you and me…" Cremia whispered, wrapping her arm around Link, "Romani's been moping like hell since you left!"

Link's eyes widened, "Romani?"

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Cremia said, nodding, "You should seriously go visit her or something! She'd go insane if she heard you came back here to Termina and didn't visit her!"

"Heh…" Link said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, not to be putting any pressure on you, or anything! It was just a thought…" Cremia added as an afterthought.

"What are you doing here?" Link cut in, eager to change the topic, "How come you're in the Milk Bar?"

"Oh," Cremia said, "The guy who owns this place is an uncle of mine, so I decided to come help him out. Told him that the business would go better if he didn't only open late at night when half his potential customers would be asleep or something. I yelled at him until he agreed to open the Milk Bar during the day too, and would you imagine? The business has been booming! Sale's haven't doubled, they've tripled! I had such a good time giving Uncle a good old 'told you so' lecture!"

Cremia stopped and started laughing, obviously very pleased with herself.

"Anyways, what bring _you_ here?" she asked after her laughter had subsided.

"I just came here with a friend of mine, who's searching for someone," Link replied.

"Ooh, really?" Cremia asked, smiling, "Think you can spare a while to stop off at the old Ranch?"

"Of course," Link said, nodding, "I'm sure Zelda will be fine with it. If not, I'll talk her into it."

"Woah!" Cremia exclaimed loudly, "_She_? Link?!"

Link's eyes widen, "Oh. No, it's not what you think. No, she's just the queen of Hyrule and I'm just accompanying her to-"

"Queen of Hyrule?!" Cremia yelled and the rest of the bar went quiet.

"Heh…" Link said, looking around nervously as many people stared at him.

"What are you eavesdroppers looking at!" Cremia snapped, "Don't you people understand the meaning of the word _privacy_?"

In an instant, the customers were talking amongst themselves again, as if nothing had happened.

"As you were saying…" Cremia said.

Link smiled, "Uh… I'm sure we'll be able to visit Romani. In fact, we'll go tomorrow."

Cremia grinned widely, "Thanks, Link! Romani's gonna be so happy to see you again!"

Link managed a smile. He hadn't seen Romani in ages and was looking forward to seeing her… but he had a horrible gut feeling that Zelda was going to try and reinforce the lie that she liked him and if Romani liked Link as much as Cremia made her out to…

Link inwardly groaned, a sense of foreboding settling inside of him.

A/N: Hope you ppl won't be cheap and only review one chapter instead of both. Ah well, can't really do much about it, eh. Just hopefully review and then go read the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

****

Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

****

Warning: none

****

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: I've been eating a lot of chocolate recently which has done something to my ability to stay serious for a long period of time, which was quite low to begin with, so yeah… if this chapter contains any weird lapses of seriousness, logic or anything else, I apologise.

Chapter 8

"Hi…"

Link looked across the room at the person at the bottom of the stairs.

"Zelda," he said smiling, "Meet Cremia. She used to work at Romani Ranch."

"Pleased to meet you," Zelda said, bowing to Cremia.

"This is Queen Zelda of Hyrule," Link said to his old friend.

"Ah," Cremia said, not sounding very happy with meeting Zelda, "So this is your girlfriend, Link?"

"No," Link said firmly.

"Yes," Zelda said at the same time.

The two Hylians glared at each other.

"No, Cremia," Link said through clenched teeth, "Zelda is _not_ my girlfriend. I am merely accompanying her on her search for one of her friends."

Cremia grabbed Link by the front of his tunic and pulled him closer.

"Then why does she seem so eager to say she's your girlfriend?" she hissed.

Link shrugged, "She's in denial! She's deluding herself by believing that she likes me when she really likes the guy that we're searching for!"

"You two seem to forget I'm in the room as well," Zelda said coldly, "Now, Link, if you truly want to go for people that are way older than you, please do so _without_ leading me on. You could have at least had the decency to tell me you only thought of me as a friend before I went and made a fool of myself in front of others!"

Link watched her storm off and sighed.

"I did! I did tell her that I didn't believe she liked me!" he said, groaning and slumping onto the table, resting his head on his arms.

Cremia patted his shoulder, "I hope it wasn't my fault."

Link shook his head, "Nah… she was bound to explode at me some time or the other… I've been really annoying her lately."

Cremia looked around awkwardly, "Uh… I'm not really good at making people feel better when I have no idea what's going on."

"Don't worry about it," Link replied.

"Oy, Cremia! Get back to work! You can talk to your friends when you're _not_ working!" a man called from the other side of the bar.

Cremia sighed, "Yes Uncle. Well, Link, I'm aware it's really none of my business, but I hope you and the queen make up soon. My shift doesn't finish until another hour and a half, so yeah… I might see you around sometime."

Link nodded, "Yep. See you later, if I do."

Cremia gave Link a wide grin, "And don't forget to visit my sis."

Link smiled, "Don't worry, I will."

Jogging up the steps, Link opened the door and walked through, only to bump into Kafei.

"Oh, I've found the wanderer," Kafei commented with a smile.

Link rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry… I saw you and Anju were a bit… busy… before, so I decided to take a walk around the town."

"Didn't do too much walking I see," Kafei replied, grinning.

"Well, I ran into Cremia so I stayed to chat for a while," Link said, walking with Kafei out onto the paved streets.

"Zelda not too happy with that, I see."

Link looked up, "She told you?"

"Her tears told me," Kafei replied, his tone serious and his mirth gone, "She's crying in her room."

Link swore and made for the Inn, but Kafei held him back, "Believe me, Link, for I know for a fact, that women are _deadly_ when they are angry or upset at you."

Link sighed, "I hope she won't stay mad at me."

"She won't," Kafei replied confidently, "Anju's up with her now, so I guarantee Zelda's going to be fine in a while."

"Ah, here's our heart-breaker," Anju joked as she joined the two.

"Her heart wasn't mine to break in the first place," Link replied firmly.

Anju recoiled and defensively put her hands up, "Sorry. I didn't mean it."

Link sighed and hung his head, shaking it, "Not your fault. Damn it, there are too many people involved in this whole Zelda and Sheik thing."

"I suppose Sheik's that other guy you two are looking for?" Kafei asked.

"Hasn't Zelda told you anything?" Link replied.

"She just woke up. And you were too busy wandering around to tell us any details," Anju said.

"Damn it, why do I feel like everything's my fault?" Link groaned.

"Ease up, bud' I'm sure Zelda will be fine. All she needs are a few quiet moments to herself," Kafei said, patting Link's back.

"Hope so," Link replied and then sighed, "If anyone wants me, I'll be in the Octorok Shooting Gallery."

Kafei and Anju looked as if they were about to protest, but then closed their mouths and looked at each other.

"That game is dangerously addictive," Kafei said sadly, shaking his head.

Anju rolled her eyes, "Go."

Kafei immediately brightened up, "Seriously?"

Anju playfully hit Kafei's arm, "Just go. I'll be in the Inn."

"There's a reaosn I love you," Kafei commented, grinning and hugged her.

"Being as small as a kid twice did something to your maturity," Anju said, shaking her head as he ran off behind Link.

A/N: I'd say that is the weirdest way I've ended any of my chapters. I'm sorry, I had no idea what else to write, thus the strange ending. Yes, I know that Kafei was slightly hypo and childish, but I couldn't help it. Please Review


	9. Chapter 9

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

****

Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

****

Warning: none

****

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: How sad, I've finished yet another chapter and I haven't been on the net. What does that make this… a triple post? sigh Well… yeah… I'll be updating more often soon, because I am getting cable internet parties so yeah… until then, please put up with my unable-to-go-on-the-internet-ness . 

[the above is a comment I wrote when I finished this chapter… here's an update on that comment: I HAVE CABLE NOW!! THAT MEANS UPDATING AS SOON AS I FINISH EACH CHAPTER! parties]

Chapter 9

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Shoveling food for horses and cows wasn't really the ideal job for Sheikah. We were meant to be arcane, mysterious, cryptic, enigmatic… wow, my head is like a thesaurus. Anyway, my point is, I didn't exactly like doing this, but I was paid and had a home until I quit this job, so I supposed my ego could learn to live with it.

I heard my name being called so I turned and in the doorway was my employer- about my age, red hair and sparkling blue eyes. The perfect disguise in a world among superficial fools. I almost felt insulted. The face was that of one who had suffered heartbreak, yearning and perhaps even depression. The smile, one that the owner had practiced many times so it would hide the natural grimace. The eyes… more used to shining with tears than sparkling with happiness…

"Sheik?"

I snapped out of my small daze as I wondered who could have caused so much pain and shook my head.

"Sorry?"

Romani smiled at me and my stomach writhed, knowing it was once again, fake.

"You've been working real hard since even before dawn. Take a break. You haven't even eaten lunch yet."

Not until she had mentioned it had I realised that I hadn't eaten. My stomach let out a low growl and I could feel my ears turn red.

"Come on," she said, smiling, "There's heaps of food left for you."

I followed and found myself thinking of Zelda for some reason. I wished I knew where she was. I knew she was with Link so I knew that she was safe from harm, but the fact that she was with Link annoyed me greatly. What if she managed to convince Link that she actually did like him? I knew Link had a strong will, but I also knew that there was quite a great chance that he liked her too. My stomach writhed for the second time in the short while. I sighed and wished I could just see her again, even if it was from afar.

But she and Link were probably far away from Termina, probably a day or two away from here, even on horseback, by now. Damn it, life was unfair.

Zelda sat on her bed, hugging her knees and leaned against the wall. Her tears had dried ages ago, but she liked the peace and solitude.

Sighing, she lifted her eyes to the ceiling, as if Sheik would just drop down from there, his usual cocky grin on his face and announce that he was only playing with her mind, that he was following her all along. She would then yell at him, laugh with him, hug him and tell him that she-

"What the-?" Zelda snapped out of the daydream-like daze and shook her head.

She knew what her daydream self was going to tell Sheik, but she found it insane. She _knew_ she didn't feel that way. Not even if Impa and Link said she did. They were wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Sheik was her best friend.

The door opened, breaking Zelda's train of thought and she looked up into Anju's eyes.

"Feeling better?" Anju asked, sitting on the edge of Zelda's bed.

Zelda nodded, "Yeah. I'm fine. I just liked the quiet."

"Want me to leave?" Anju asked, making to stand up.

"No, no it's okay," Zelda said quickly, holding Anju's hand, "I like your company."

Anju smiled back, "So… you forgive Link for whatever you were cursing at him under your breath before for?"

Zelda went slightly red, "Ah… yeah… Yeah, he's forgiven. I just… tend to over-react sometimes."

"Think we should tell Link you're not mad at him?" Anju asked, grinning, "I know where to find him."

Zelda nodded immediately, "Yeah, sure."

Standing up, they both made their way out of the Inn and Anju led the way to the Archery Gallery Link and Kafei were in.

"Hey hey! Good to see you, Mrs. Dotour!" the man behind the counter said, raising an enormous hand as a greeting.

Anju smiled back and then turned to Kafei and Link, both oblivious to their entrance, seemingly in the middle of some sort of competition.

Zelda didn't seem to mind being ignored and leaned against the wall, intently watching the game.

"Woo! I win, by thirty points!!" Link cheered, punching the air.

"Well, you _are_ the Hero of Time," Kafei said, smiling, though embarassment was detectable in his voice.

"Oh, hi Zel," Link said, his smile fading and his arm slowly dropping to his side.

Zelda smiled and shook her head, not making comment, though none was needed as Link read her expression, figured he was forgiven and grinned again.

"Anyone have any plans for the rest of today?" Anju asked, clasping her hands together.

"Well, Cremia asked me to go visit the ranch, but I suppose I can do that tomorrow," Link replied, "Why? What do you have planned?"

Anju smiled and blushed slightly, "I just thought we could all go for a picnic at Great Bay. I'll cook."

Link and Kafei looked at each other, their eyes wide.

"Why don't you let us men cook this time around?" Kafei suggested, smiling widely.

"Yeah! I'm sure it'll be a great experience for us. Besides, you can take a well deserved break. It looks like you work hard all the time," Link added hastily.

Anju smiled, not realising the reason behind their sudden eagerness to cook, "Sure! Gosh, that's so kind of you two! Don't you reckon, Zelda?"

Zelda smiled, "Yeah. I say; let them. It'd be interesting to see how well they can cook."

Only then did it strike Link and Kafei that they had no idea how to cook anything. Looking at each other, they smiled, but the expressions in their eyes told each other everything. Neither of them had ever even touched a frying pan in their lives.

"Can we use the kitchen in the Inn?" Kafei asked, smiling.

"Of course!" Anju replied, "Oh, and in case you're interested, I have some cookbooks in the room that used to be my grandmother's."

"What-" Link was about to ask what happened to Anju's grandmother, but Kafei elbowed him, unnoticed by Anju or Zelda, "…Never mind."

"Okay, we'll be off now, then!" Kafei said, grabbing Link by the arm and dragging him off to the Stockpot Inn.

"You have no idea how to cook, do you?" Link muttered as they walked into the Inn.

"No I don't. I take it you don't either," Kafei replied.

Link shrugged, "What can I say. Eating vegetables and berries that grew in the forest was all I did when I was little. Only thing I can make is a Kokiri Salad, but of course, you need fruit native to the Kokiri Forest."

Kafei swore, "We are so screwed…"

"Where are those cookbooks Anju told us about?" Link asked, "If we follow the instructions, surely, we _can't_ go wrong."

Kafei sighed, "It's worth a try."

"Zelda is never going to let me live this down if we burn the food real bad or something…" Link said, though he grinned at the thought.

"Don't jinx it," Kafei warned and then walked into the red room once inhabited by Anju's grandmother, who Link could make quite an educated guess, was deceased.

Finding the book on the shelf, Kafei pulled it out of its place, with considerable difficulty, seeing that it was quite a thick book.

"Here, let me," Link said, taking the book from Kafei, holding it as if it were nothing but a thin piece of parchment, which made Kafei flush with embarassment.

"When I came here before, I realised the only thing that Anju ever cooked was stew. Is that still the case?" Link asked.

Kafei shook his head, "Thankfully, she got her hands on this book. Her egg noodles were okay, I suppose we could make them…"

"That can be one of the meals," Link said, flipping through the book, "Ooh, how does this sound? Thick bread with a vegetable and cheese filling…"

"It'll do," Kafei replied, "What do we need?"

"Flour. Potatoes. Peas. Carrots. Cheese." Link said, as if the answer was obvious.

Kafei flushed again, "I knew that. Just checking."

Link grinned, "Let's get cooking."

A/N: Ahahaha, I'm making Link and Kafei cook!! prods Link and Kafei while they try not to set the kitchen on fire I know I'm making Kafei get really embarassed that a guy seven years younger than him was stronger than he was, but hey; if an eight year old was stronger than I was, I'd feel ashamed. Probably would happen, y'know . 

Anyhoo… tell me what you thought of this chapter. Suggestions are welcome if you want anything to happen in any of the coming chapters. Except for couplings involving Link, Zelda or Sheik. I already planned what's happening there. taps fingertips together deviously

Ehh, the voices inside my head are telling me to leave y'all alone now, so I shall. bows and retreats to shadowy corner


	10. Chapter 10

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

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Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

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Warning: none

****

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: I'm so sorry that I took so freaking long to update this!! but yeah… aside from my procrastination, I had stuff like school, yearly exams and going overseas getting in my way. Sorry!! I'll try to write the next chapter quicker…

Chapter 10

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I found her crying. I knew she was upset, but this was the first time I saw her actually cry.

"Romani…?" I whispered.

She looked up, jumped slightly, obviously mortified that I had caught her crying.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked.

She bit her lip, "You wouldn't understand."

I shook my head. I really hated it when people said that.

"You wouldn't know unless you told me, would you?" I smiled hopefully.

Sighing, she buried her face in her hands, "It's just something I haven't told anyone except my sister about…"

"You have a sister?" I asked. It never occurred to me how little I knew about my employer. Of course, I had only been here for almost a day.

"Yeah. Her name's Cremia," Romani replied and then shook her head, "Don't worry about it, Sheik. It's just… I'll never understand the torments of Love."

I let out a hollow laugh, "That makes the two of us."

Romani looked up, "Wanna talk about it?"

I grinned mockingly at her, which I knew was horrible seeing she was so upset before, but I thought she deserved it, "You wouldn't understand."

"It's on fire!!"

"I know that! Let me get some water!"

"Link!! The stove is on fire!"

"I _know _that, Kafei! Get out of my way and I'll get some water to put it out!"

It had been half an hour since Kafei and Link had readily volunteered to cook and Kafei had set the stove on fire for the third time.

Link bent at the small water basin at the corner of the room, scooping up a bucket of water and throwing it at the fire, watching it fizzle out.

"We really can't cook," Kafei commented.

Link nodded, "I know. Look, this time, let _me_ cook and you can give me the ingredients, instead of the other way around."

Kafei nodded and went to the table, where all the ingredients they were using were scattered.

"Okay, now give me the flour," Link instructed, looking at the cookbook and then to the stove.

Kafei handed him a bag.

"Kafei, that's the sugar."

"I knew that," Kafei mumbled, cheeks going red as he took the bag back and gave Link the flour.

Link sighed. This was going to take quite a while….

"What do you think they're doing in there?" Zelda asked, looking in the direction of the Inn, "It's been half an hour. You don't think they're in trouble or something, do you?"

Anju shook her head, "Cooking isn't hard, Zelda! Not even for men! They're fine. Trust me, they're probably just dawdling or something."

After another quarter of an hour, Link and Kafei finally leaned against the bench, admiring the large basket of food that they had made, after their great struggle.

"There. We've finished. We've proved that we can actually cook," Kafei muttered.

Link nodded, "We should be very proud of ourselves. But I'll leave that until after we've eaten, if it actually tastes good."

"It'll taste better than Anju's soup," Kafei commented.

"That's not very nice," Link said.

"It's the truth," said Kafei.

The two let out loud sighs and stopped leaning against the bench and walked out, Link taking the basket.

"Oh good, you're still alive," Anju said, grinning as Link and Kafei came out of the Inn.

"Barely," Link whispered to Zelda, who smiled.

"Why do you smell… singed?" Anju asked as Kafei hugged her.

Kafei gave her a sheepish grin, "Singed? I don't smell anything…"

"Okay, _truthfully_, how many times did you set the kitchen on fire?" Zelda asked Link.

"Thrice," Kafei confessed, "I don't think I'm stove-friendly."

Anju laughed, "Okay, shall we go?"

"Of course, I'll get the horse-drawn cart," Kafei replied.

"Uhh… do you mind if Epona comes with us?" Link asked quickly, "For obvious reasons, I'm kind of wary of leaving her here all alone…"

Kafei nodded, "Sure, sure!"

"She can help pull the cart," Link said, smiling, "She'd need some exercise. Last thing she's been pulling is grass out of the ground for food."

Link and Kafei went off to prepare the cart and soon, the four were on their way to Great Bay.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Broken Promises

**Game: **Zelda

**Rating:** G

**Genre:** Romance

**Summary:** As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

**Warning:** none

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update this!! -feels ashamed- I've had a pretty long writers block and my parents banned me from writing because they weren't happy with my school marks, blah blah blah, so my fic writing skills are a bit rusty :(

Well, I hope you like the chapter. Have fun people! :)

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Chapter 11

Well, she didn't end up telling me what broke her heart so, thus I didn't tell her about Zelda. It was only fair. But can I blame her…? Perhaps her heartache involves things that one would usually not share with others. Such as deceit, perhaps even violence…

I would not consider my pains over Zelda as a heartache. More like… self resentment. Not a day passed during which I would miss a moment to mentally chastise myself for ever leaving. What couldn't I accept about being nothing more than a friend to her? Surely it wouldn't have been THAT bad… at least it wouldn't have hurt her and my sanity wouldn't be slowly but surely eaten away at. I never realised how evil Love could be. I never realised that it could drive one mad, but that's what was happening to me… It's almost too much to handle… I want to just go home, but what's there to assure that my return would be a welcomed one? What if Zelda wasn't even in Hyrule? It seemed so long ago that I had found her sleeping in the forest and had spoken to Link, but I knew that it hadn't even been a week, so they may still be out… it only hit me then that I hadn't bothered to ask exactly why they were out in the middle of the forest like they were. Perhaps Link had been called upon another quest and Zelda had decided to go with him, for she was now the Queen of Hyrule…? I cared very little for the reason and I cared even less for the fact that it wasn't usual of Zelda to go out on quests with Link. I mean, she was adventurous, but she valued her independence. All that was on my mind was the fact that I had left her and it could possibly have been the stupidest things a Sheikah has ever done.

It was almost midday by the time that Link, Zelda, Kafei and Anju had reached Great Bay.

"We're there!" Link, who had offered to drive the cart, announced, jumping out of the driver's seat on the cart and helping Zelda off as Kafei followed and assisted Anju.

Anju insisted on carrying the large basket of food, saying that the two men had gone to the effort of cooking and shouldn't be made to carry the food as well. Link and Zelda walked ahead.

"Zelda?" Link asked cautiously.

She turned to him, "What is it?"

Link looked into her eyes, "You seem troubled, Zel."

Zelda sighed and began to walk away, "Don't worry about it…"

He placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her, "But I do."

Stopping, she looked at the sandy ground.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"It's…" she began and then sighed, "It's Sheik."

Link didn't comment the way Zelda had most probably been expecting him to, with comments that she couldn't stop thinking about him because she was in love with him, and just silently let her speak.

"I… I feel so guilty, Link… I mean… we came here to get a map so we could start looking for him… but, we're now staying a while here and…" Zelda went silent and Link could easily tell how upset she was.

"We'll find him," he assured her.

"Will we? What if he doesn't want to come back, Link? What if he… what if…"

"Are you afraid he lost interest in you, Zelda?" he asked quietly.

"What is that supposed to mean!" she cried.

"Are you afraid that he doesn't want to know you… to be your friend, at least…" he replied.

"I… I don't know… I don't…" Zelda stammered and then sighed, "Yes."

Link hugged her gently, "I promise you that he hasn't. He won't, okay?"

"How can you be so sure?" Zelda cried, "What makes you so confident that we'll find him? Why do you believe he'll come back if I ask him? What makes you think he still cares?!"

"Hey, Link!"

Link sighed and looked in Kafei's direction, who was waving at him.

"Come on Zelda," Link said, leading the way to the picnic blanket Anju had layed out, "Don't worry about it, okay? It'll all be okay."

The four of them sat down on the blanket and ate and talked, laughing and making jokes for hours on end. Link noticed Zelda's mood had lightened up a bit and she was enjoying herself; her fears of Sheik pushed to the back of her mind.

Getting up, Link looked at Kafei, "Shall we go for a small walk?"

Kafei nodded, understanding that Link wanted to talk about something.

"What's wrong?" he asked when he and Link were out of the women's earshot.

"Zelda's expressing her fears on not being able to find that friend we set out to find… I think I should be going soon," Link replied, "He means a lot to her. Even if she won't admit it, I can tell by the way she talks about him, the way that she's so worried…"

Kafei nodded, "I understand. You want anything before you leave? I'll have Anju to pack you some food and blankets before you leave."

Link smiled, "Thanks. I also need to know something else… do you know where that map-maker, Tingle, is? I need him to make me a map so that we don't get lost when we start looking around."

Smiling in amusement, Kafei nodded, "He should be in some dark corner of West Clocktown, actually. He set up a shop there, but he charges very high prices for his maps…"

Link laughed, "So nothing's changed then…"

Smiling, the two men made their way back to the picnic area.

"It's been good seeing you again Link," Kafei said, "Do you have any time in mind that you're leaving?"

"I'll leave tomorrow afternoon. I promised Cremia that I would visit her ranch before I left," Link replied.

Nodding, the mayor smiled, "I'll see you off then."

"Thank you Kafei," Link replied, smiling, "You've been a great friend for the two days we've been here. I'll make sure I visit again."

"So… shall we head back?" Anju asked, standing up.

She and Zelda seemed to have already packed up the basket and put it back onto the cart, which they had left on the grassy area, so that the horses could graze.

"Sure," Kafei replied and they all got onto the cart, with Link driving again, and went back to Clocktown, arriving back at dusk.

"I'll be up with dinner soon!" Anju said, waving as Link and Zelda walked to the Inn.

"No, it's okay, we'll go out for dinner tonight," Link replied, waving.

"Zelda?" he asked when they were at the top of the stairs leading to their rooms, "We're leaving tomorrow, okay?"

"Link!" she exclaimed, "I didn't mean to have you cut your visit to your friends so short! It's okay, we can stay for a while! It'll be okay…"

"No, don't worry about it. I know how important it is to you to find Sheik. I came with you because I wanted to help you and I plan to. I don't want to hold you up any longer. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon, okay?"

Nodding slowly, Zelda smiled, "Thanks, Link. What are you doing tomorrow?"

Link smiled, "Tomorrow, we're going to visit Romani Ranch. Do you remember Cremia? She has a sister who works at a ranch and asked me to visit her before we left. Are you okay with that?"

Zelda didn't particularly like Creamia too much and doubted that her sister would be any better, but she could see what Link was giving up for her and nodded, smiling, "Sure. Of course I'm fine with it."

With that, the two went into their rooms and went out for dinner.

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Hmm… I didn't really wanna write about Link and Zelda going out to dinner, so yeah…

I know I'm lazy

Anyways… review and tell me what you think.


	12. Chapter 12

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Title: Broken Promises

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Game: Zelda

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Rating: G

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Genre: Romance

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Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

****

Warning: none

****

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: Yay! I updated sooner than last time (by a few months, I think… )

Hope you all like it!! I had fun writing it.

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Chapter 12

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I was getting used to living at the ranch, despite the fact that Romani was unwilling to share her pains with me. I just had to accept that not everyone would be as willing to tell others of their problems as I was, or as Impa was, or Zelda… or anyone I knew in Hyrule.

When I initially came here to Termina, I had the impression that it bore a striking resemblance to Hyrule. I suppose that's part of the reason I'm still here. Sure, the place looked different, but the people seemed familiar… the generally personality of this place was rather comforting because it reminded me of my original home. But now, the longer I stayed here, the more that I realised that this place was different to Hyrule- or at least, the Hyrule that I knew.

Those I knew in Hyrule was very tightly-knit. They weren't afraid of sharing their feelings with others… at least, not when it was paining them greatly. And someone would always be able to help. I grew up believing that, I suppose. That everyone would share their problems and that I would be able to help them. It's the reason I originally made friends with Zelda when she came to my village with Impa, hiding from Ganondorf.

It took us a while, I admit, but we were soon great friends. She told me of her worries, of her kingdom, our home, falling into peril under the dark rule of Ganondorf. Her worry and more importantly, the fact that she confided in me was what moved me the most and that was the reason that I offered to help her however I could.

I suggested to her once that I teach her to disguise herself, so that she could go about, under Ganondorf's ever watchful eyes and never be recognised. She had told me of Link, the brave young boy of the forest who was so willing to save our home. At first I was jealous, of course. The way Zelda admired Link's courage. How he was so loyal. I think that was also part of the reason I was so willing to come up with a way to help in the defeat of Ganondorf. I felt so reassured that she still valued me when she told me that she was going to disguise herself as me- her best friend, she had called me.

I still remember going red that day, when she had declared we were best friends. She meant so much to me and it was so elating to know that I meant a lot to her too. In that instant, all my jealousy and worrying over Link being the one Zelda chose to love just evaporated and all I was left with was the ever-strengthening love I had for my princess, my best friend.

It was then that I made up my mind. Tomorrow, I was going to return to Hyrule. I was going to confess all I felt for Zelda. I would finally accept that I could no longer remain her best friend without telling her exactly how much she meant to me. I didn't care about rejection. Not at that exact moment. I was going to be true to myself. Be true to my feelings for her. The truth. That was all that mattered. It was what made friendships so strong.

Zelda rose earlier than usual that morning. Despite the fact that she felt bad that she was keeping Link from spending time with his friends, she was excited. Happy that she would finally be able to begin her search for Sheik. To make him come home with her. She would tell him... tell him what? Tell him what he meant to her? She had already done that. She had done so a few years ago, when she had told him that they were best friends. Wasn't that enough? He knew what it meant. He seemed so happy when she had said it. But there were always differences between friendship… and love.

Was that what she felt for Link? Love? She knew that she liked him, but… love seemed a rather strong word. She cared for him greatly. But didn't she care greatly for Sheik as well? Link gave her attention when she needed it, and her distance when she wanted it. As did Sheik. Was there any difference between what they both meant to her? Perhaps Link was just a good friend… like Sheik was. Or perhaps… Perhaps, as Link suggested… Sheik meant more to her than a friend… as Link seemed to as well. There wasn't any difference she could think of between what Link meant to her and what Sheik meant to her. If Link had gone missing, she would have also searched until she found him and begged him to return to Hyrule. Of course she would have. There was no difference.

"You awake, Zel?" Link's voice came from the other side of the door, accompanied by a couple of gentle knocks to make sure that she wouldn't have woken up if he was mistaken and she was still asleep.

Zelda felt the familiar blush settle across her cheeks. Perhaps there was a difference.

"Well well, you've finally woken up early, have you?" she asked coolly, grinning as she opened the door, "Navi will be pleased when I tell her."

Link laughed too, "I could say the same for yourself, you know. It's definitely earlier than when you usually wake up, isn't it?"

She smiled, "Can I help it? I'm excited. I'm going to finally begin my first adventure, and find Sheik."

"Well, my queen, the first part of your grand adventure can be to accompany me to the map-maker's to make sure that we don't get lost and have to rely on my wonderful navigational skills again," Link said, laughing.

Zelda laughed too, "Shall we go, then?"

Link led the way down the stairs and out of the Inn, "Now… Kafei said that Tingle would be in…"

"Tingle?" Zelda asked incredulously.

"Yeah… heard of him?" Link replied, "A small man… in his forties, now… wears green… thinks he's a fairy…"

"Thinks he's a fairy?" Zelda cried, "How can you trust someone who is that… that _delirious_ to make you a proper map?!"

Link smiled in amusement at Zelda's reaction, "Trust me, he makes the best maps ever… yeah, so he thinks he's a fairy… but it definitely pays off because that balloon he uses to try and fly with gives him the best views in all of Termina and it helps him make his maps."

Seeing no point in arguing her case further, Zelda quietly went with Link to West Clocktown, as Link had remembered where the shop was located.

"Maps! Good quality maps!! Good quality maps for sensible prices!!" Tingle's sales pitch was distinguishable among the other sounds of the town, coming from a small stall beside the west gate of clocktown.

"Hello Tingle," Link greeted the man as he walked to the stall.

"Ah! My good sir! Are you interested in a map? Of course you must be! You wouldn't come here otherwise!!" Tingle cried back.

Pausing, Tingle took a closer look at Link, "Why, are you not the forest fairy I once met?"

Link smiled, "That's me."

"Mr. Fairy!! You've grown up a lot! What can I do for you, my fellow fairy?" Tingle cried, almost falling off his stool in excitement.

Beside Link, Zelda elbowed him, "Mr. Fairy??"

Link shrugged before getting into a very serious discussion about what was wanted on the map, what scale, what material it would be made on, and of course, the price.

Zelda rolled her eyes and sighed. This was going to take a while…

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Review and tell me what you think, ok?


	13. Chapter 13

**Title:** Broken Promises

**Game: **Zelda

**Rating:** G

**Genre:** Romance

**Summary:** As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

**Warning:** none

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: Hahaha, it took me a long time to update, didn't it? Well… I've been on holidays, had a major writer's block AND I'm being weighed down by a tonne of assignments, so that's my excuse this time. Hopefully I'll update sooner next time, but I'm not going to make any promises.

Chapter 13

Romani was heaving the large milk bottles onto the cart with the help of the Gorman Brothers who, she had told me, used to be trouble-makers, who would try to steal the Romani Milk when Cremia, Romani's sister, used to transport them to Clocktown. It seems that Link had one night helped Cremia deliver the milk safely, fending off the brothers when they tried to steal the milk, and since then they had been humbled into helping at the ranch for a reasonable wage, especially after Cremia had gone to live and work in Clocktown with their uncle, who ran a Milk Bar there.

Seeing me, she told the brothers to keep working and walked towards me, "What is it, Sheik?"

I gave her a small smile and told her that I wished to return to Hyrule tomorrow, and that I was going to leave perhaps tomorrow morning. To my surprise, she took it rather well.

"Oh. Okay, I understand. I don't blame you for being homesick," she said, smiling at me.

It was a lot more than homesickness, but she did not have to know that. No one did. Yet.

Returning to my work, I smiled, already feeling a little closer to home, to Zelda.

By the time Link had finally agreed on Tingle about the map, he had no idea where Zelda was. She had gotten bored with his haggling and discussing the contents of the map and had wandered off and he had paid no heed to it, but now he didn't know where she had gone. And he was hungry.

"Oh great… where's she gone…"

Walking through the crowds, he finally found her heading in the direction of the Milk Bar.

"Zelda!" he yelled out, running after her.

She turned and fixed him with an jaded stare.

"Oh, are you done _already_?" she asked, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Link grinned sheepishly, "Trust me, Tingle's hard to bargain with."

Zelda shook her head, "And why couldn't you just stick with the price he first charged?"

Link shrugged, "Sure. I'll go back and tell him that he can have his three thousand rupees…"

"WHAT!" she yelled, "That's outrageous!"

He chuckled and nodded, "Thought you'd agree."

"I recall him advertising maps for _sensible_ prices!" Zelda asked.

Link laughed and patted Zelda's back, "That's what they all say, Zel. Trust me, you learn a lot when you go shopping instead of sending servants."

"What are you hinting at?" she asked icily and Link laughed again.

"Just kidding Zel, don't go crazy."

Zelda let out a small sound of indignation and stalked away leaving Link to run after her.

"I was kidding!" he yelled at her, "What's gotten into you, Zelda? What's your problem!"

She turned around to him and he didn't need to hear her answer for he already knew the problem.

"It's Sheik, damn it," she whispered, "I… I've had enough of this, Link! Why did he just have to leave like that? He… he was my best friend! That means you can't just ditch someone like that! He left so… so easily! It's like he never cared about me! He didn't give a damn how much it hurt me, did he? He was just thinking of himself! He doesn't care!"

A woman in her late teens or early twenties screaming and crying in the middle of the street generally would stir some curiosity within the passers-by and indeed, a small crowd had gathered to watch. Link looked around and frowned.

"What are you all looking at?" he barked, "Mind your own business!"

Despite his being an unknown to most people there, his voice seemed to carry authority and the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving the dsistraught queen to her own grief.

"Zelda, get up," Link said, offering her a hand, which she took, still sniffing quietly.

"Do you want to leave now?" he asked, "I know we were planning on leaving later, and visiting Romani first, but if you want, we'll go now. Forget everything and find Sheik, what do you say?"

Zelda looked at him, "Why are you so ready to drop everything, Link?"

He shook his head, "Because I can see it hurts you, Zel. I can't stand watching someone hurt the way you do."

Her eyes darkened, "I'm going to kill him, Link."

He looked at her sadly and hugged her gently, "You won't, Zelda."

"Let's at least pay a visit to your friend Romani first… I'll feel bad if we leave before doing so… you've already given up so much for me and I don't think my conscience could bear it if you had to give up this too," Zelda said.

"You'll come back as soon as you've found your friend, won't you?" Kafei asked as he and Link shook hands.

"Definitely. I haven't had enough of this place by a longshot," Link replied, grinning.

"Take care," Zelda said, kissing Anju's cheek, "I promise we'll visit again, and this time I'll bring Sheik along too."

Anju smiled, "Take care too, Zelda. Good luck in finding him."

Zelda returned the smile and joined Link, who was already reining Epona up.

"Thank you, Link," she murmured before beginning to rein up her own horse and mounted, giving Anju, Kafei and Clocktown another look before following Link out into Termina Field.

"It's a good thing Anju let us take packed lunches instead of making us sit down and eat, because this gives us more time. We'll make the visit to Romani Ranch a short one and then we'll be back on the road before dusk," Link said and Zelda nodded.

'I'll find you, Sheik,' a determined queen thought to herself, 'I'll find you soon.'

Good? Bad? Not worth the amount of time it took for the update? Go ahead and tell me.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Broken Promises

Game: Zelda

Rating: G

Genre: Romance

Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

Warning: none

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: Well… I hope that all my readers and reviewers aren't dead or have decided to abandon reading this because it took me so freaking long to update… ; Here's the next chapter for all of those who care!

Chapter 14

Tomorrow was certainly taking its time… today's work had been hindered by daydreams of my returning to Hyrule and to Zelda's side. Even though it was midday, I was sure that a week had passed… why couldn't the sun just drop down from the sky and rise again as quickly as possible? But then… from Link's stories, the moon had already almost fallen to the ground, I doubted these people would be able to handle it if the sun did as well.

My senses must have been failing due to my impatience as well- I barely heard Romani approaching.

"You seem dazed," she said, smiling at me.

I grinned and confessed that I could not wait to get home, to which she suggested that I leave tonight instead.

I shook my head, "No. I said I would leave tomorrow and that is when I shall continue to work until. I owe you at least this. You've been so kind to me."

She smiled and I inquired if there was any work she would have me do. She nodded and mentioned that the milk was needed to be delivered to Clocktown; the Gorman brothers had gotten into a rather violent fight earlier in the morning and were both in bed nursing their bruises and broken bones, in no condition to work, let alone drive a cart to the town. I nodded and went to saddle up the horses, the milk canisters having already been placed upon the back of the cart. After some brief directions from Romani as to how to find my way to Clocktown, I was off, accompanied only by the steady rhythm of hooves against the ground, the rumbling of the wooden wheels and the clinking of the canisters against each other.

Link pointed out a small wooden sign, "That's the start of the road to the ranch."

Zelda looked over to where Link had pointed. The entrance seemed rather narrow, as it was at the point where two hills that ran parallel to each other flattened down into the rest of the landscape. (A/N: I'm writing this from memory, people… don't kill me if it's wrong )

"Come on," he said, urging Epona forward and galloping towards the ranch.

Zelda followed, her horse falling into speed with Link's as she rode beside him, she too focused on the road ahead and finding Sheik and Link too focused on meeting an old friend for either of them to notice a large vulture that slowly encircled them overhead, before swooping at Link.

A flapping of wings was heard, followed by a shout of pain from Link and a scream of fear from Zelda and the vulture flew south, towards the swamp, gripping its prize in its talons- Link's ocarina.

"That bird stole my ocarina!" he yelled, pulling sharply on Epona's left rein so that she would turn and galloped after it.

Zelda, who was not as skilled, nor as used to horses as Link was, had no control over her horse who became flustered as Epona quickly turned and sped in the opposite direction to where she was going originally. The horse reared and Zelda let out a scream and clung to its neck for dear life, agitating the horse, which also made a sharp turn and sped after Epona.

"Link!" Zelda screamed, keeping her eyes shut out of fear of what she would see if she opened them.

Her horse, becoming more frightened due to her screaming, bucked and sent her flying off, falling into a heap on the ground. The sharp pain had only registered itself in Zelda's mind for a split second before she passed out, her horse still pursuing Epona.

Link couldn't hear Zelda's screams, for his ears were pounding with the sound of his blood, his face turning red with rage as he watched the wretched bird fly off higher and higher with his most prized possession within the tight grip of its talons. Pressing his knees hard against Epona's sides, he drew his bow and strung it, taking aim, before hesitating. What if the ocarina broke when it hit the ground as the bird fell? He couldn't risk it… could he? He shook his head roughly, no… that ocarina's magic went beyond its songs… no matter what he did whilst carrying it, even if he fell from the top of Death Mountain, it would always remain in once piece… today would be the same… there was nothing to risk.

"Die, birdie," he growled as he took aim again and let fly, his left hand, now free for he no longer held the arrow returning to Epona's rein as he watched the bird spread its wings before becoming limp and plummeting to the ground.

Tugging at Epona's reins to make her speed up, he held out his arm and caught his falling ocarina, which had been released from the bird's grips as it was hit. With a smile of victory, he looked around for Zelda, his smile vanishing the instant he realised he had no idea where she was.

Of course, while Link was chasing the thieving bird and Zelda lay unconscious on the ground just in the entrance to Southern Swamp, a milk cart clattered by on the road not too far away from them, yet far enough for the driver- Sheik- not to notice either of them.

When Zelda next opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were Link's own azure orbs, looking at her with great concern.

"Umm-"

"I'm sorry," Link cut her off, "I… I should have remembered about that annoying bird… it has a penchant for stealing things from unwary passers-by… and I guess I fell into that category."

Zelda blinked, still feeling a bit dizzy. Noticing the bleeding scratch across Link's cheek, she reached up to touch the skin near it.

"It's nothing," Link said, shaking his head, "Just a scratch, I've had worse."

Zelda smiled and gently brought Link's face down towards hers, her intentions clear.

Link hesitated and pulled back, out of her reach, "We have to get to Romani Ranch soon, if we plan to be back on the road before nightfall."

She nodded, trying to pretend that she didn't feel hurt because he pulled away.

"You weren't out cold for long, luckily… we would have had a huge disruption in our planning, otherwise," Link said as he mounted Epona.

Zelda stood up and found that her horse had been tied to a nearby tree.

"Your horse got quite a scare," Link said, looking at it, "I caught it before it ran too far towards Snowhead. That's no place for a horse."

"Thank you," she replied quietly and mounted after untying it.

"No problem, let's just get on to Romani Ranch eh? The sooner the better, I reckon," Link replied, avoiding looking at her.

Zelda hung her head slightly as she rode behind him, aware that she had made Link feel uncomfortable when she tried to kiss him and feeling extremely embarrassed and angry with herself.

"Hey look I-"

"It's okay," Link replied quietly, "I understand."

"Really?" Zelda murmured, though only she could hear it, "I don't."

They were soon at the entrance to Romani Ranch and Link looked around, "Doesn't seem to have changed much… that's a good thing."

"This is the ranch? All I see is… an expanse of land…" Zelda said.

Link pointed diagonally to his right, "That's where the house and cattle shed is. Romani used to live there with Cremia," he then pointed straight ahead, "That's where the cuccoos are kept, and there's a dog racing track there as well. A hidden bonus of the ranch, I guess. The cows are allowed to graze in the rest of the land."

Zelda nodded in comprehension and they set off where Link had first pointed- towards the house.

"Halt! Who goes there?" a voice came from behind them.

Link twisted backwards to look at one of the Gorman brothers, carrying a pitchfork over his shoulder and wearing the same menacing look he had worn years ago.

"Link, remember me?" Link replied, a hint of scorn in his voice.

The face of the Gorman completely changed, to poorly hidden fear and respect, "Link, sir! I had no idea you were in the area! How kind of you to stop by, sir!"

Link grinned, "And what are you doing here? Not stealing cows, I'd hope?"

The ex-thief shook his head rapidly, "No no no, sir. My brother and I work here now."

Link raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Really? That's something I wouldn't have imagined."

Gorman laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck; "I should be getting back to work… I'm sure Miss Romani would be at the house or in the cow shed."

Nodding their thanks, the Hylians watched Gorman scuttle off as quickly as he could without looking like he was trying to get away from Link as quickly as possible.

"So, let's get going to see Romani then," Zelda said, smiling.

Link nodded and led the way to the ranch house, knocking on the door. There was no response so he knocked on the door of the cow shed instead, which was opened after half a minute, by a rather tired and messy looking red headed girl, about Link's age, give or take a few years.

Her blue eyes widened considerably as she took in the man dressed in green before her, her jaw dropping before she screamed out, "LINK!"

The Hylian in question grinned and nodded in a way that sent chills up Romani's spine. Her hand went into her messy tangled hair as she realised how she looked like and in addition, noticed the rather attractive blonde woman standing beside Link, both facts making her heart sink past her stomach.

"I…need…a…bath…" she stammered, her eyes still wide and her movements rigid.

Link smiled comfortingly, "Sure, we'll wait outside in the paddock. This is Zelda, by the way, Queen of Hyrule. She's my friend."

Zelda smiled and Romani returned with a timid smile, bowed slightly and then ran out of the cow shed without another word; her eyes tightly shut as her mind ran over all possible meanings of the word 'friend'

A/N: I think the next chapter shall be the last… but I can't be sure until I write it ;)

Now review, all you wonderful still-alive people!


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Broken Promises

Game: Zelda

Rating: G

Genre: Romance

Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.

Warning: none

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: Yeesh, this is going to be weird, seeing how many different perspectives I have to write from this time. There's Sheik, Link, Zelda and Romani… XP

But look how quickly I updated!

Chapter 15

Going to the town was a good distraction from the anxiety and impatience I had been feeling earlier regarding the approach of tomorrow. I had never been to town before in Termina and I could tell as soon as I approached the Eastern Gate- which was the closest to the Milk Bar I was supposed to be delivering the milk to- that this town was nothing like Hyrule's. It was bigger, and I guess for that reason, seemed less packed. The people here also seemed a lot nicer… if you passed someone in Hyrule Marketplace, they'd most probably push you aside to get to the bargain you were blocking them from at a stall a metre away. Here one would give an friendly smile to a passer-by. Especially one transporting what seemed to be the most consumed beverage in the land. It was evident from the moment that I arrived at the Milk Bar, run by Romani's sister and uncle, who seemed to enjoy constantly bickering, that this delivery would take a while. I didn't exactly mind, though, seeing that I had nothing better to do and this would most probably help pass the time.

Romani stood at the mirror in her room, pulling roughly at her wet hair with a brush. Her skin was red from the hot water and intense scrubbing she had forced herself to undergo when she took her bath. The last of the tangles finally fell apart and Romani's red hair now hung straight down. With a small noise of satisfaction, she began to dry it and dressed herself. With one final glance at the mirror, she deemed it satisfactory for her to go out and meet Link now… only realising with a pang of dread as she made her way down the stairs, that there was another woman with Link.

Zelda was getting tired of waiting. This girl had already taken fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes were wasted while she could have been out there searching for Sheik. She looked at Link, who didn't seem to mind the wait and was stroking Epona and was humming Epona's Song, looking rather distant and hoped that this wait was going to be worth it.

Link gazed off into the vast blue expanse of sky with a small smile touching his lips, wondering how things had changed with Romani in the last seven years. She had looked rather messy when they had briefly met before but looking past that, Link could tell that she had developed into a woman of considerable beauty. From the small glance he had received of her eyes, he could tell that they were wide open to her soul, her every emotion clear in those crystal blue pools, such a contrast to her bright fiery red hair. His smile spread and he snapped out of his reverie and shook his head.

What was he thinking?

He glanced over to Zelda and smiled slightly, noticing that she looked impatient.

'Love is…' Link thought to himself, trying to find the correct word and then grinned, '…like insanity.'

He had harboured feelings for Zelda before deep within his heart, but now they had almost completely faded away as he realised her love for Sheik and also had realised that the feelings he had for Zelda were never love… he doubted they were even close to the emotion. He had never felt love for a woman so he couldn't tell what Sheik must have been feeling or thinking when he ran from Zelda, and he couldn't understand how much it must have hurt Zelda, and though this awareness of his not knowing things aroused his curiousity, he was undoubtedly glad that he hadn't been forced to have the feelings himself.

His thoughts went back to Romani and he grinned again, wondering if she would still call him his old nickname of-

"GRASSHOPPER!"

Link let out an audible laugh as he heard her voice, carrying the familiarity of an old friend, touched up with the sweet sound of womanhood and carrying with it her emotions, of joy intermingled with fear. A curious combination, Link noted as he stood and spread out his arms, motioning for a hug.

Romani's blue eyes brightened up even more as she let out a small laugh and ran into his arms, "Hey!"

"How've you been?" Link asked, squeezing her before letting go.

"Lonely!" Romani mock-whined, "You shouldn't have left me all alone like that! I had no friends after Cremia went to work with Uncle."

Link grinned, "Oh sorry! I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me."

The two burst out laughing and seemed to not notice Zelda, standing there looking pretty annoyed at the fact that they were acting like long lost buddies (disregarding the fact that they were) and also noting with intense disapproval, that Link still had his arm around Romani's waist.

Clearing her throat, she smiled at Romani and introduced herself, "My name is Zelda. I am the Queen of Hyrule and am Link's close friend. Pleased to meet you."

Romani gave Zelda the biggest smile that she was able to, with a small wave, "I'm Romani. Named after this ranch. Also Link's close friend."

She didn't know what, but inside Zelda, something cracked at Romani's last sentence. Her eyes darkened, though she remained with her sugary smile, "Named after a ranch? That's rather odd, isn't it Link, darling?"

Both Link and Romani started as Zelda wrapped her arm around Link's and pulled him close.

"What are you-" Link began to ask but Romani's eyes had already welled up with tears and she had run away.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he barked, pushing Zelda away from him.

Zelda looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"This!" he yelled, "You constantly telling others that we're a couple! We're not, Zelda, get it? I don't love you… and I never will! So deal with it!"

To this, Zelda's eyes had begun to water, "Link… I thought-"

"Well you obviously thought wrong, didn't you?" he shouted, "Do you have any idea of how much you may have just hurt Romani just now?"

"Link, I just… don't want you to be with someone who doesn't deserve you! You're… a close friend to me… maybe even like a brother to me… this is what I have learned… I love you, but only as a brother. I just don't want to see you waste your affections on someone not worthy! There are many women out there who would kill for your affections! I just…" Zelda cried earnestly

Link's frown eased slowly and he looked at Zelda and said, "Zelda… you don't need to choose who's worthy and who's not. I'm fully able to decide this on my own. Please, leave this to me."

Zelda began to cry again, "I'm so sorry Link…"

Waving the apology aside, Link ran towards the house to find Romani, leaving Zelda to her guilt.

Romani was washing the dishes inside, with tears streaming down her cheeks. When she was upset, she sought to distract herself and doing housework was a rather effective way of doing so. She… she had loved Link for so long. How long had it been? Only eight years? It seemed like an eternity ago that an innocent boy had wandered into the ranch, and had found his horse, Epona, who she had found wandering around Termina Field and decided to take in until the owner was found.

Lifting the bucket of soapy water, she heaved it outside to the back of the house to pour it out, not noticing Link who had seen her and was running towards her.

"Romani!"

The soapy water slopped onto her skirt as she stopped halfway through pouring it out onto the ground. She slowly turned her head towards him and he flinched slightly in reaction to her tear stained face.

"What do you want? Why did you come here Link? To flaunt your girlfriend to me? Have you been showing her off to everyone in Termina?" she asked quietly, though despite the low volume she spoke at, her words were filled with anger and hurt.

"Romani…" he whispered, walking closer to her, "She's not my girlfriend."

"Then why did she…" she cried and then trailed off as she began crying.

"She's like a sister to me," he assured her, holding her shoulder gently, "and I'm nothing more than a brother to _her_. She was just unsure whether or not you…"

Romani looked up and Link looked away.

"I spoke to Cremia the other day…"

Romani's eyes widened with horror, "She… didn't…"

Link's eyes found their way back to hers, "I don't want you to think my reason for coming here was as inane as showing off some girlfriend that never mattered to anyone in Termina…"

"Then…why…" Romani whispered, caught in Link's unbreakable stare.

Link's hand went to Romani's cheek, "These tears… what do they run for?"

"My heart, Link…" she whispered, "I thought you broke it."

He gave her a small smile, "How can I break something that doesn't belong to me?"

She laughed, though the stream of tears seemed to thicken and gave Link a small push, "You idiot. I've loved you all along, don't you know?"

He pulled her close and held her gently and whispered into her ear, "All along."

Romani laughed again, "You are cruel. Why didn't you come back?"

Link caressed her, "Why didn't you come to Hyrule to find me? I told you all about my home land."

"I was too scared," Romani confessed, "Who knows how you felt about me… you mask your emotions so well."

"I was a coward," he said with a small grin, "You hide your emotions as well as I do."

He regarded her appearance and added, "Most of the time, anyways. There's only one place people can't hide what they feel."

"Where would that be?" Romani asked, smiling.

Pointing at his eyes, Link smiled, "I remember when I was last in Termina, every time you looked at me, your eyes would brighten up. It's really obvious what someone's feeling, as long as you know the right place to look."

"I love you Link," Romani whispered, tears of happiness shining in her eyes.

Link only smiled and kissed her, gently at first and then with increasing passion as their lips poured out what was almost an entire decade of restrained love.

"I love you too."

Zelda wandered aimlessly through the field of the ranch. What had she done? Impa had always taught her to not allow her emotions to cloud her judgement, but that was exactly what she had gone and done.

Perhaps it was the fact that Link so close a friend to her that she wasn't used to seeing him display any affection for other females, with the sole exception of Saria, but the two truly had been best friends for their entire lives. Link was certainly not bold around women, he would hardly speak to any so the emotions he had shown when meeting Romani must have been geniune… and Zelda should never have doubted that, she should never have done what she did. By hurting Romani's feelings, she could tell that she had also hurt Link's and she was afraid to even think about Link being angry with her. She could only hope that Link would forgive her quickly… and the same with Romani.

She noticed that due to her incessant walking, she had found a dog racing area. She raised an eyebrow. The ranch was definitely large and diverse… Well, she liked dogs, and figured that they may be able to cheer her up and walked in.

Sheik was amazed that between the three arguments that had broken out between Cremia and Galon (A/N: which I have decided to name their uncle XD) none of the milk bottles had been broken. In any case, he was just glad to be out of there. Climbing onto the empty cart, he began the journey back to the ranch, which was definitely shorter than the one to town.

Sighing, he wondered what the time was. Perhaps it was already late into the night and he wouldn't have to wait long until the next day…

No such luck. The sun hadn't even set yet.

Entering the ranch, he stopped the cart at the cow shed, where Romani had told him to leave it for her to take care of and went into the house.

"You could've warned me how violently your sister fought with your-" he stopped talking as he noticed Romani wasn't there.

"Romani?" he called, poking his head into the cow shed, but she wasn't there either.

"Odd…" he puzzled over where she could be and heard something that could be her voice coming from behind the house.

"We there?" he asked, looking around the corner.

His eyes widened as he saw Romani in Link's arms, kissing passionately. Romani pulled away while giggling and looked at him, "Oh, hi Sheik. Sorry."

Link, who was admiring Romani when she spoke, abruptly turned his head to the Sheikah.

"Sheik!"

Sheik's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, "Link."

Link immediately stood and walked towards him, "Is this where you've been all along?"

"Where is she?" the Sheikah asked, impatience written clearly in his eyes.

"I don't know… isn't she out there in the field? That's where I left her…" Link replied.

Romani looked confused, "Could someone please tell me what's going on?"

Link looked at her and took her hands, "The reason we're in Termina is because Zelda is looking for her best friend. This guy."

Romani's eyes widened as Link pointed at Sheik, "Really? How come you've never told me you knew Link?"

Sheik shrugged, "You never asked, I guess… and I'm not exactly one to speak about myself much either."

"He loves her," Link said, looking at her meaningfully.

"And she?" Romani asked with some skepticism.

Link could feel Sheik's eyes on him too, also waiting for the answer. He sighed, "She won't admit it, but I know she does."

Sheik shook his head, "No. See? She doesn't love me. I knew it."

Link turned to Sheik, "How can you let yourself believe that? You have no idea how badly she broke down when you left. She's just as afraid as you are."

Sheik sighed and hung his head while he thought, his hair falling in his face.

"Go for it, Sheik," Romani said, smiling, "Believe in yourself."

Running his hand through his blonde hair, he sighed, "What have I got to lose."

Walking out into the field, followed by Link and Romani, who held hands, Sheik looked around and then let out a small sigh in disappointment, "Where is she?"

Link looked around and frowned, "She was over there when I last saw her."

The three looked in the direction that was pointed in and each felt their own disappointment at not finding the Hylian Queen there. Sheik felt it the worst. A hand went into his hair again and he let out a low growl. He needed to find Zelda! He had run away from her for long and now, he could feel his desire to see her, to admit everything to her was now rising inside of him and he couldn't supress it for longer.

"Maybe she's gone for a walk somewhere?" Romani suggested.

"Well she could've gone either further down the field or back towards Termina, and remembering how bad our encounter was with that gods forsaken vulture that attacked us on the way here, I doubt she would've gone that way," Link said.

With that, Sheik ran towards the end of the ranch, looking around frantically. He then remembered about the dog race area at the end of the ranch and remembered how much Zelda liked dogs. There was a chance she was there. He had to find her. Running towards the area, he called out her name.

Zelda was getting more and more desolate by the minute. The kind lady who owned the dogs offered help if she could, but Zelda turned down with thanks and told her that not much would help her. The lady was now surrounded by her dogs, feeding them as the day's races were at an end.

Suddenly, she heard something. She didn't know if it was real or a figment of her imagination, but it was Sheik's voice, calling her name. Her head snapped up and she looked around.

"Oh, it's that blonde boy again," the lady acknowledged the voice, meaning that Zelda hadn't imagined it.

"Sheik! You know him?" Zelda cried.

"Well, I never knew his name, but I've met him. The crimson eyes one, aye?"

"SHEIK!" Zelda cried, running out into the field.

Surely enough there was the Sheikah running towards her, desperation clear in his eyes. He stopped and stood there, grinning at her, despite his longing to take her into his arms and hug her tightly.

"Don't tell me…" she began, returning the grin.

"…I was here all along," Sheik finished and they ran to each other, hugging with intense emotion.

"Tell me why before I kill you," Zelda said, laughing while she cried.

Sheik's eyes were also watering from the intense relief he felt as all the tightness in his chest just washed away in their hug, in her presence. He shook his head and laughed, "It's stupid."

"Leaving me was stupid, you fool," Zelda said, pushing at him playfully.

"I love you," he whispered, holding her wrist, "I love you so much it drives me crazy."

Her eyes locked with his as he pulled her into a tight embrace, her mouth slightly open in surprise, her eyes betraying the muddled rush of emotions inside her.

"That's why I left. I don't deserve you."

"Idiot," she whispered, putting her slender fingers to his cheek, coming in contact with the hot salty tears he had allowed to stream down his face, "Don't ever let yourself believe that. I love you more than even I can comprehend."

Their lips met with such force that they both slightly staggered, and Zelda wrapped her arms around Sheik's neck, pulling him closer and he held her waist, as if both were afraid this were a dream and the next second they would be alone and empty once again.

"I love you, I love you," Sheik murmured repeatedly, stroking Zelda's tear stained face, entangling his hands in her hair, everything he could to assure himself that what was happening was real.

By this time Link and Romani had caught up to Sheik and were standing there smiling as they witnessed the declarations of love between the two. Link grinned and wrapped his arm around Romani's waist, resting his head against hers.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

There was a short pause and then Link kissed Romani's forhead, "Come with me to Hyrule."

"Of course. I'll give the ranch to Cremia and she can do whatever she wants about the management."

"You'll be living in a castle with me and those lovebirds. Do you think you could handle that?"

Romani smiled, "A castle? I think I'll manage."

"And we'll have a double wedding," Link said, grinning.

Romani laughed, "That will have to depend on how long those two take."

"If they're as crazy about each other as I am about you, we'll all be married as soon as we return to Hyrule."

"That's fine with me. I love you so much Link."

Link pulled Romani into his arms and hugged her tightly before kissing her, "I love you too."

End-

Yay! It's over! I might write an epilogue to this, but… ehh, you guys can tell me if you want one or not.

Sorry for such a crappy ending! ;


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